I have always admired Chita Rivera, the legendary Broadway star who, to me, was more than an actress, singer, and dancer. She was a trailblazer, a humanitarian, and a role model for Latinas. Chita was the first Latina to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and she won two Tony Awards for her roles in “The Rink” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman”. She was also a ten-time Tony nominee, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, and a Broadway legend who inspired generations of Latinas to pursue their dreams and to embrace our heritage and culture. Chita Rivera Ancest ..read more

In 2023 Atabal celebrated 40 years since percussionist Héctor Rodríguez co-founded the band, and this month they started their 41st year with a remarkable performance at the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián. Atabal ‘s 40th Anniversary Atabal has been playing Afro-Caribbean music with a contemporary twist since 1983. Last year they celebrated their 40th anniversary, so I’m a year late writing about it. But better late than never. Their name comes from the word “atabal”, which means “drum” in Arabic and Spanish. The band’s founder and director, Héctor “Atabal” Rodríguez, was a renowned percuss ..read more

If you are a fan of jazz and Latin music, you won’t want to miss the 2024 Puerto Rico Jazz Jam, a two-day event that will feature some of the best musicians and singers on the island and beyond. The event, organized by the renowned trumpet player, composer, arranger, and musical director Humberto Ramírez, will take place on January 26 and 27, 2024, at the Sala René Marqués of the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce. Tribute to La Lupe Michelle Brava will perform songs from La Lupe with Humberto Ramirez’s big band. The Puerto Rico Jazz Jam is an annual celebration of jazz and Afro-Puerto Rican ..read more

Another year has passed, and I truly hope it was a good one for you. You may have noticed that in 2023 Latino Music Café didn’t have as much content activity as in previous years. I’ll get into the reasons for that in a moment, but wanted to share these reflections first. This year marked the centenaries of two great Latin musicians, both of Puerto Rican heritage. Ernesto Antonio Puente, better known as Tito Puente was born April 20, 1923, and Pablo Rodriguez Lozada, better known as Tito Rodriguez. There were many homages to these great bandleaders and musicians both in Puerto Rican and in Ne ..read more

Voting is ongoing for the 2023 La Musa Awards of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame (LSHOF) and is open to all music fans. The voting window will close on May 17, 2023. The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame (LSHOF) The LSHOF was formed in 2012 in Miami, FL, and had its first inductees selected the following year. It is “dedicated to educating, honoring, and celebrating the lives and music of the world’s greatest Latin songwriters and composers”, as stated on their website. The LSHOF La Musa Award statue was inspired by Elena Casals. However, the LSHOF last handed out their LA MUSA AWARDS in 2019 ..read more

Master percussionist Eguie Castrillo will commemorate the centenaries of Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez with the concert “The Mambo Kings – 100 Years” on April 6 at Berklee College of Music. Special guests include Gilberto Santa Rosa and John “Dandy” Rodriguez. The Mambo Kings – 100 Years Concert This year we celebrate the centenaries of two Mambo Kings; Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez. Berklee professor of Latin rhythms, Eguie Castrillo, played with Tito Puente who became his mentor and friend. So for this event, Castrillo will take us back to the times of the Palladium by performing with his ..read more

When I saw this video explaining why you shouldn’t play the cowbell in concerts, I immediately thought of those that do it at the Día Nacional de la Zalsa. He provides 5 reasons why not to do it. 5 Reasons Not to Play Cowbell at Concerts Joaquin Arteaga, the bandleader of Barcelona-based Salsa band Tromboranga, offered this video of why you shouldn’t play the cowbell at concerts. I must assume that as a Salsa musician, he has suffered the consequences of this modality. The video is in Spanish, and it’s best that you see him explain his reasons, as I can’t come close to transmitting the emotio ..read more

With the celebration of Tito Puente’s centenary in 2023, you’ll be hard-pressed to experience a better tribute than Giovanni Hidalgo’s “Tribute to the King“. This tribute comes in two formats; a just-released album, and a concert event in Puerto Rico (for now). Origin of Giovanni’s Tribute to the King The genesis of this tribute goes back to 1996 when Giovanni, who at the time was part of Tito Puente’s Golden Latin Jazz All-Stars, approached the King about the idea of recording an album in his honor. The great master timbalero gave him the green light and even offered to be there to help him ..read more

In our conversation with the maestro Humberto Ramírez about the Puerto Rico Jazz Jam 2023, we talked about the details of each of the musical presentations and what it takes to plan and carry out an event of this magnitud. In this blog I include several audio clips of my conversation with the maestro. Planning the Puerto Rico Jazz Jam Before talking about the musical part, we talked a little with Humberto about the history and the effort needed to put together a quality music festival. I'm very grateful with all those that support the festival buying their ticket to go and see us perform ..read more

This Christmas I gave my wife a record player as a gift, and we spent Día de Reyes enjoying the experience of listening to our vinyl LPs again. It was fantastic! The Vinyl LP Experience For some years my wife Ivonne has been dreaming of getting a record player to listen to our collection of vinyl LPs. The LPs have been stored away in plastic containers for years, enduring a few moves. We’ve lost quite a few in the process, and I’m not sure how. Some I might have given out, some maybe got damaged, I really don’t know. But a few hundred survived through it all. My daughter got herself a record ..read more